Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Golden Triangle Polymers Company, just last month, announced a $1.3 million donation to Lamar State College Orange to facilitate the purchase of a Polaris Hands-on-Training 3 Glycol Distillation Trainer.

The equipment provides LSCO industrial systems students hands-on training opportunities.

Golden Triangle Polymers is a joint venture between Chevron Phillips Chemical and QatarEnergy that broke ground last month on plant construction.

Chevron Phillips Chemical President and CEO Bruce Chinn was back in Orange this week, where he touched on the importance of the donation.

“Students who are educated on the operation of this unit will be better prepared for real life positions as process operators and instrumentation technicians, not just for our work but for work in the area,” Chinn said.

“We believe this donation, as well as programs we are developing with all our community partners, will bring generational change to Orange. It is our privilege to work alongside many of you to maximize the opportunities provided by this project and develop the people and businesses right here in Orange County.”

Orange County Judge John Gothia said the donation is an example of Golden Triangle Polymers putting in more than just lip service when it comes to local commitment.

“The hope is that we are going to have our local students have local opportunities for education,” Gothia said. “Once they get out of that education, they are going to have a local job. That is just fantastic to have. It is great for us.”

Additional local investment beyond the construction startup includes a $200,000 donation to Orange County to expand its economic development program to include the Golden Triangle Polymers project.

Orange County will work closely with Orange County Economic Development Corporation and area chambers of commerce to host public supplier and vendor fairs.

Small-business owners will also be able to work with Orange County staff to learn what qualifies a small business to be an approved vendor or supplier on any major project.

“The purpose of this program is to ensure we continue to prioritize sourcing locally when it comes to vendors, suppliers and, of course, the workforce,” Chinn said.

“This dedicated staff will work closely with Orange County Economic Development Corporation, all the chambers of commerce in the area to grow and develop small businesses. This development through Local First will give the Orange County business community the best chance possible to compete for work on this project and, also, future projects in the region. We’re not just building capability for this project, we’re building capability for the future of Orange County and the community.”

Company officials expect, in the first 20 years the facility operates in Orange, it will create an estimated $50 billion impact across a number or areas, including construction spending and jobs creating revenue for new and existing businesses.

This project itself, during construction, will create an estimated 4,500 construction jobs and more than 500 fulltime jobs.

There are six primary construction companies that are contracted to build the Golden Triangle Polymers facility.